This interview is about the Canadian solidarity movement's work on Palestine and their attempts to reach Palestine by sea. And about the work local artisans that are now rebuilding a boat with Canadian money for the purpose of exporting goods. Interview with David Heap

David Heap is Professor of French and Linguistics at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is an active trade unionist and has committed himself to a leading role in the Canadian solidarity movement with Palestine.

Foto: www.GazaArk.org / June 3, 2010: Vittorio
Arrigoni from Italy with the Palestinian flag on one of the protest boats in
front of Gaza. Photo EPA/ ALI ALI

Sie engagieren sich mit vielen anderen Kanadiern in der Solidaritätsbewegung für Palästina – u. a. wurde das mit dringend benötigten Gütern beladene Schiff »Tahrir« nach Palästina geschickt. Können Sie kurz schildern, wie das ausgangen ist? / Among many other Canadiuans, you were involvedin
the solidarity movment for Palestine – this included the initiative of a much
needed ship laden with goods that was named the Tahrir, which was sent to
Palestine. Could you briefly describe what happened?

In 2010, the first Solidarity Flotilla was headed for Palestine - the Israeli navy stopped it but, nine people on the Turkish boat called the "Mavi Marmara" were shot. A year later, solidarity groups from several countries began to organize a second flotilla. Using donations that we had collected in Canada, we bought a 25 meter Greek vessel that had previously been used in island transportation , and called it the " Tahrir " - based on the central square in Cairo, which was the site of large demonstrations that eventually led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. It is the same place where rallies were held that led to the dismissal of his successor, Mohammad Mursi. Our " Tahrir " had an international crew on board consisting of Australians, Danes, Belgians, Turks. Canadian TV was there initially, as were representatives such as the Middle East correspondent of international media, the Russian Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Israeli Haaretz, and the Deutsche June Welt. The captain was Greek. The intention was to start from Aghios Nikolaos in Crete. While other ships prepared to leave towards Palestine in other Greek ports. The Israeli government, however, managed to prevent the granting of departure permits due to the continued pressure exercised with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. This action (the withholding of a departure permit) was contrary to Greek law by the way. The Port Authority's initial approach was bureaucratic in nature as they tried to confiscate the ship's papers. We not only prevented this, but also responded with an international demonstration through the city center to the harbor. We made things quite difficult for the Port Authority supervisor/captain. ( 1) Then came the official ban on our departure. A coast guard ship blocked our exit from the port. On land soldiers were stationed with drawn machine guns. Since other ships had been sabotaged, very likely by Israeli intelligence, we lowered headlight into the water at night to illuminate the hull. The crew of a large French catamaran, which was next to us, also turned on their underwater lights. A group of Greek divers conducted an under water check up once every hour to ensure that everything was in order. Since we were now guarded very closely our only chance was to outwit the Greek authorities. Our captain was formally terminated - we did not want to risk that the Greek authorities would deprive him of his license. Before the Coast Guard knew it, suddenly the two engines of the " Tahrir " were turned on, the lines were cast off, and we slipped out of the harbor. This was made possible by two of our people who, using kayaks, ensured that the coast guard boat that had been moored beside the Tahrir would be unable to leave. We were four miles at sea when the Coast Guard shipt caught up to us. Soldiers boarded the ship and we were brought back to port. ( 2) The Greek justice system would have liked to find someone they could blame for illegal departure - but could not. All 40 people on board were questioned by the police and each testified that he also did not know who was at that time in charge of the wheelhouse or the engine room. We moved the " Tahrir " a few weeks later to Turkey and together with the Irish ship, the " Saoirse ", made a new start. (3) After two days of travel, we approached Palestine and suddenly found that every electronic contact with the outside world was gone - the satellite phones and Internet connection had been interrupted. It was clear to us that we would soon have to deal with the Israeli navy.

Das israelische Militär hat also die Satellitenverbindung gekappt? / Did the Israeli military cut off the satellite connection?

Yes. For us it was a clear indication that Israel did not want the world to realizes what was happening - after all this time we had journalists on board again. When the Greek Coast Guard had captured us we were able to stay online the entire time. The journalists on board could continue their live reporting freely at that time. It was also clear that the soldiers felt uncomfortable with having to hold us. The final location of the 'Tahrir' (during the November 2011 attempt to reach Gaza), which we had determined by GPS, was about 45 to 50 nautical miles (one nautical mile is 1.852 kilometers) off the Palestinian coast. So we were in international waters. Suddenly three large warships approached, accompanied by a group of approximately 16-20 smaller boats, all manned by heavily armed soldiers.

Gab es Funkkontakt zu den Marineeinheiten? / There was radio contact with the naval units?

Yes, via marine radio. An Israeli officer asked for our destination and Ehab Lotayef, one of our board members, said, "Our goal is the conscience of mankind" Shortly after we boarded two dozen heavily armed soldiers - who knew very well that we were only 13 unarmed people (including captain) that had no intention to resist. Contact with the Irish boat was also interrupted and the Navy had bombarded it with water cannons. Since the electricity had failed, contact was no longer possible. When the soldiers attacked us, I was together with the captain and Ehab on the bridge. They ordered me to draw back by five meters - which I did not because I would have otherwise fallen into water. Then I was shot with a Taser, a stun gun. The soldiers took control of the ship, they searched all the rooms and then told us that they had found no weapons or other prohibited items. And they announced that they would bring the ship into the Israeli port of Ashdod - which was never our intended destination, of course.

This was strange, as the soldiers transferred the ship to Ashdod, all who guarded us fell asleep. Except for one, who got startled every now and again and then held his machine gun aimed directly at us. We strongly requested that a guard would be assigned to us who was well rested. In Ashdod, we were supposed to be handed over to the immigration authorities. However, we refused to enter a country to which we did not intend to travel, thus exercising passive resistance. Then the soldiers became violent: Ehab was pushed from the ship, the rest of us were carried down. However, with the exception of a lot of bruises we did not suffer any injuries. According to international law, the Israeli navy had been complicit in state piracy due to their actions. But we also knew that we were treated much milder than the Israelis commonly with Palestinians.

Initially we were individually questioned by the immigration authorities. This was followed by questioning by the security police. Meanwhile, the Irish delegation that had also been arrested arrived in Ashdod. Together we were taken to a prison. Crews of previous solidarity ships had been deported by the Israelis in part after 24 hours. But they tried to intimidate us by threatening to imprision us for two weeks or two months imprisonment and by threatening that we would have to pay our flight ourselves. We continuously had to listen to different and conflicting statements. The only thing that could generally be said here is that everything was a lie. The six days in jail were for all of us something like a school of practical solidarity, we have learned a lot from the Irish.

Foto: www.GazaArk.org / In Gaza's harbour: The fishing boat >>Al-Dahoud<< is being refurbished. It is intended to transport agricultural and artisan goods through the Israeli blockade. Photo: www.GazaArk.org

I was flown to Canada in a plane by the Israeli airline El Al. Previously, I was told that El Al is not just simply an airline, but a part of the state apparatus. And so it was: We came on board feeling like prisoners. In fact, the crew did not allow us to leave after landing in Toronto, but instead handed over to the Canadian immigration authorities.

Wie sind Sie an Bord des Flugzeugs behandelt worden? / How were you treated on board the aircraft?

I did not notice much as I fell asleep immediately. However, the cabin crew ensured that we had as little contact as possible with the other passengers by assigning seats in the back of the plane. Ehab told me that he had heard how passengers facing us were whispering among themselves: 'Hopefully their dirty suitcase not touch our luggage'... But after six days of being cut off from the world we were back in Canada. Then we heard the news of the day: Per coincidence a private conversation between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. President Barack Obama had been recorded. They talked among other things about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and had called him a "liar." Our own experiences with Israel only confirmed this.

Die Strategie der Solidaritätsbewegung, die Blockade Palästinas von See her zu durchbrechen, ist ja nun gescheitert. Sie haben jetzt die Strategie geändert – Sie wollen sie von innen her brechen… / The strategy of breaking the blockade on Palestine via the sea by the Solidarity movement has now failed. You have now changed your strategy - You want to break it down from the inside...

In 2008, five solidarity ships managed to reach Gaza. This form of action has not proven itself to be very effective. It has not changed anything regarding the blockade of Palestine, nor has it changed the manner in which the Canadian government supports Israel. But it has helped - in our case at least, to raise awareness of the Palestine problem with many Canadian and Irish citizens by means of media coverage . This was also the case last year when the Scandinavian three-masted schooner " Estelle " sailed under the flag of Finland in northern Europe to Palestine. On the way the ship docked in numerous ports, where the crew raised awareness about the purpose of the trip. Ultimately, it is important to reach the hearts and minds of the people, to strengthen the solidarity movement with Palestine. And we assume that the governments that are involved will be unable to ignore this. I will at this point not address a change in strategy. We still want to appeal to the conscience of the world in regard to this blockade. It's more of a " change of tactics ", it is the result of various considerations that we have discussed not only in Canada , but also with our foreign partners. But this time our approach is reversed: We want to break the blockade of Gaza . We have acquired an old fishing boat, which has like many others remained unused in harbour for many years. It is approximately the same size as the " Tahrir ," approximately 25 m in length. ( 4) We are paying local craftsment to rebuild this boat. They are guided by volunteers from the Solidarity movement - one of them being an engineer and a professional who was part of the refurbishment of the " Estelle " in Finland. Before the boat can leave port, we will have created some job opportunities for the locals. Our plan is to export agricultural and handicraft products, which will represent a continuation of the trade that was customary before the blockade. You must also know that at present spare parts can’t be imported into the country. This of course leads to a disintegration of a large part of the Palestinian economy, of course . The people of Gaza need no humanitarian aid, but freedom of movement to get the economy going and even to live a normal life. When we set out to sea from Gaza it will be perfectly clear that we are far from being a threat to Israel. We are demonstrating for the right of Palestinians to live a normal life . From the " Estelle " we have learned how important a long preparatory period is. It has proven to be very important for public relations purposes, to call into many ports. It is an approach that we can of course can copy in the future - but with our project, we certainly have the ability to attract the attention of the media.

Hat das Boot schon einen Namen und gibt es einen Plan, wann es auslaufen soll? / Does the boat have a name and is there a plan set for the boat's departure from port?

It's called "ad-Dahoul" and is still registered under the name of the previous owner. When the documents are signed the boat will be renamed. Like all of these coastal fishing vessels, our boat currently does not have internationally accepted papers. We still have to acquire these when it is time. Our engineer has created a work plan which indicates that the work has to be completed in a few months, possibly already in September. And our departure will also be weather dependent. In addition we also want to load 40 to 50 tons of cargo on board, that will have been sold to customers from abroad.

Solidarität mit Palästina wird in Deutschland gerne als Antisemitismus dargestellt. Wie gehen Sie damit in Kanada um? / In Germany, solidarity with Palestine is often portrayed as anti-Semitism. How do you deal with this in Canada?

We are very familiar with such accusations, especially from the unconditionally pro-Israeli government of Canada. Of course, most mainstream media follow suit. For me these insults are basically just acts of desperation - they have no better arguments. But let me address the facts: Even the "Tahrir" was co-financed by many Jewish organizations in Canada, and the registered owner was Sarah Rush who is Jewish. There were Christians of various denominations on board, an Imam, several Muslims, atheists - these were individuals fom many countries. We have just as much and just as little to do with Hamas, who govern Gaza, as we do with the authorities of any other country. In Greece we had to negotiate with the Greek port authorities, and in Gaza, we'll have to talk with the authorities there. Apart from that - we are something like a grass roots movement and want nothing to do with bureaucracy.

Was halten Sie vom US-Präsidenten Barack Obama? Er hat kürzlich Deutschland besucht und ist jetzt wegen der Abhöraffäre des Geheimdienstes NSA in heftige Kritik geraten. / What do you think of US President Barak Obama? He recently visited Germany and is now subject to heavy criticism due to the NSA wiretapping scandal.

As a rule I set my expectations as low as is possible, which improves the prospects of sparing me disappointment. That is why I don't have the slightest hope of concrete steps by Obama. He will not change anything in Guantanamo, no will he stop the drone attacks. He will also maintain the US's status quo of supporting Israel.

Wie steht die kanadische Bürgerrechtsbewegung zu Obama? / What is the position of the Canadian civil rights movement in regard to Obama?

We are all very disappointed in him. He did not keep his promise to close Guantanamo. He also did not follow through on the potential prospect of changes in the Middle East policy. The US spy on the entire world and send their drones going to kill in other countries without any form of court rulings.

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